What does Rain on a Windowsill sound like?
by CassadraChan
Summary: Elsa Winters finds herself amongst people she cannot communicate with, until someone meets her by the tree... Astrid Hofferson, ever confident in herself, is back home in a life, she'd much rather do without. Until she meets him... Jelsa and Hiccstrid, for those who are wondering. High School AU. T to be safe
1. Felton was a great place

1

Elsa Winters slammed the door behind her with a sigh. Heads all around the parking lot turned towards her, but she didn't know what for. She'd only closed the door to her car. She trotted up to the main entrance, completely oblivious of the countless whispers of mockery, pity and everything in between that surrounded her.

Felton High had been such a great place, she thought, as she pushed her way towards the lockers. Back there, it did not matter if she could hear the school bell. She had close friends and piers that was like her in so many ways. So, when it was announced that Felton High had to shut down, Elsa didn't know what to do. How would she ever fare amongst students that did not understand her? Her way of communication was so foreign to them, she would be ostracized from the get-go.

As she picked up the last book from her locker, she felt a gentle tap on the shoulder. She turned, and was met with a small smile from the interpreter.

" _Good morning, Elsa,_ " she signed, and walked along side Elsa, as they made their way towards the first class of the day.

The interpreter, Miss Ingrid, was a woman in her early thirties, and had previously been a teacher at Felton. She was lucky enough to get a job at a new school, and still be able to work with Felton students, which she dearly loved to do.

" _Good morning, Miss Ingrid._ " Elsa's words were few and sentences short, that morning. She wasn't particularly in the mood for any socializing. Miss Ingrid didn't say anything more, either; they just silently walked inside the classroom. Miss Ingrid went up to the teacher's desk and Elsa made her way over to her seat by the window. It started to rain, as Mr. North stepped inside and began the lecture.

OOO

Throughout the lesson, Elsa's gaze left Miss Ingrid and turned out towards the falling droplets outside, and she wondered what sound the rain made, when it hit a window. It was a stupid move to not focus on Miss Ingrid at all times, but the rain was so soothing to look at, and she could feel so many eyes, stabbing her form every direction. She hoped, that if she looked at the rain long enough, they would all just let her be. But the feeling grew stronger, and stronger still. She turned her eyes back on the teacher, and he bore an expecting look. Miss Ingrid waved for my attention and quickly repeated what was said by Mr. North.

" _Would you answer this equation, please?_ " Elsa's entire body tensed and focused on the appointed math equation on the black board. It really wasn't too hard, but she was still hesitant to answer. She knew that if she were to answer, students around her would scoff or slightly cringe at her answer, no matter if it was right or wrong. For nobody understood it, anyway.

" _Elsa, do you know the answer?_ " Mr. North hadn't said anything, but Miss Ingrid asked Elsa anyway. She nodded slightly and very vaguely gave her answer for Miss Ingrid to translate. She didn't want the eyes of 25 people just staring at her, if she could avoid it. Mr. North nodded at Elsa, then proceeded to write her answer on the board, followed by drawing two lines under the numbers. Elsa's gaze flicked back on Miss Ingrid, as she began translating again.

" _And with that done, the assignment for next week…_ " A phone's vibration could be heard throughout the classroom. Elsa reached for her back pocket, swiping off her alarm. Only a second later, the other students rose from their seats in a haste to get out of the classroom and onwards to the next class.

Elsa was the last to leave, as always.

OOO

Lunch break rolled in, and Elsa found herself sitting outside, enjoying the first warm rays of spring, leaned up against an old oak tree, that she had claimed her refuge when she started the semester. Nobody ever came out there, and so Elsa cold enjoy the solitude and peace. She popped out her hearing aids and immediately felt more at ease. She'd never had a need to wear them at Felton, for everybody was like her. Unable to hear the rain on a windowsill, never knowing what laughter sounded like. But it didn't matter to any of them. They could still enjoy a concert, and have parties that caused neighbor complaints.

Elsa pulled out a book from her back pack and started to read, while enjoying her lunch.

OOO

Exiting the school cafeteria, Jack walked across the school yard towards the outer skirts of the school perimeter. Out there, he remembered, was an oak tree. He had seen it the other day, just after ice hockey practice, and he thought he'd check it out to see if it had any sturdy branches for climbing, or perhaps for a swing. He'd promised his little sister to look for a good swing tree near the school, in case she wanted to visit him after her own classes.

"Would you look for a swing tree, Jack? It's almost summer, and I can go there after school and wait for you, before we go home."

Jack thought her cute and innocent, and couldn't possibly say no. Normally, she would be picked up by their mother, or wait on the playground until Jack was done with practice, so he could take her home. She'd always be on the swings when he came to get her, so when he came to take her home last Friday and she wasn't by the swings, Jack got worried. In fact, he realized, there wasn't any swings at all. They'd been removed. He went to find a teacher and asked for his little sister's whereabouts.

The teacher had directed him towards the hillside behind the slide, where they had a rock formation, the kids could sit on.

His sister had told him that day, that the swings were broken, so they had to take them down. The look that followed her sad story was heartbreaking, and thus Jack promised to find a tree for her to swing in, while she waited for him to finish school.

Jack found himself in front of the great oak, without knowing how fast he got there. He looked around the crown of the tree and saw a thick branch protrude to the left. And underneath, a girl sat, reading a book.

"Hi," he said joyfully, walking towards her. She showed no sign of having heard him, so he stepped closer still.

"Hello? Hi, my name is Jack. Who are you?" Still no answer. She looked very occupied with her book, as the pages turned with rapt fingers, her gaze frantically moving along the lines. Jack placed gentle fingers on her shoulder, making the girl jump from the ground and look up at him. Her deep blue eyes scanned him quickly, and she reached out for her back pack. From it, she retrieved a notebook and a pencil, and started to write.

" _Is this place forbidden to be in?_ " She looked at Jack with big eyes, already reaching for her jacket in case she had to leave. Jack just looked at the notebook, then at the girl, and back at notebook. A few seconds went by, before he got himself together and wrote an answer.

" _No, not as far as I know. But I came here to check out the tree. Swing for my little sis._ " He was about the hand it back to her, before he added another line.

" _Sorry, but I'm curious. Why do you write on this?_ " She took back the notebook, and her blue eyes scanned his messy handwriting. She looked away for a moment, taking a deep breath. She then proceeded to take something out of her pocket and reach for her ears. And that was when Jack realized, why she hadn't reacted when he called out for her.

"You're deaf…"

OOO

Elsa stared at the guy in front of her, while he in return stared at her. No one said anything for quite a while. The silence was broken by Elsa's phone, vibrating in her pocket. She fumbled a bit with her books and managed to get up on her feet and start walking away without regaining eye contact with the guy. Once again, she felt his hand, this time on her wrist, as he demanded her attention.

" _Sorry._ "

Another intense pause ensued, as Elsa found herself lost within those deep, clear blue eyes, that seemed almost unnatural in colour. His eyebrows were sewn together right above his nose and his head was slightly dipped. His right hand a tight fist at his chest, he begged her to hear him out. Not that she could, anyway.

" _I'm sorry,_ " he repeated. " _Long time I talk deaf people._ " Elsa's eyes widened, her eyebrows disappearing behind her bangs, as he continued to speak to her, in a language, she'd thought she'd never would see at school again. He let go of her hand, and she just let it fall down her side.

" _Nice to meet you. I'm J-A-C-K. You?_ "

Elsa found, she could not move. Try as she might, she couldn't get her hands to express what she wanted to say. So she did what she knew she could do without a doubt.

She ran, not looking back.


	2. Blue eyes, blue confusion

2

The light above Elsa's bedroom door kept blinking relentlessly. She ignored her sister's persistent tries to get into her room. Anna wanted to talk, as she always wanted to do, but Elsa had a certain math assignment for the following week, and she had failed to properly follow along the lesson.

And even back home, her concentration was not on math. But the colour blue.

The light above the door was blue. Her bed sheets were blue. The sky outside her window was blue. But nothing was truly blue. Not like the blue, she'd seen that day by the oak tree. Nothing would ever be as blue as his eyes.

Whoever that 'Jack' may be.

After another five blinks, the door opened, and Anna crossed her arms as she leaned up against the door frame.

" _Elsa,_ " she complained. " _You know that whenever someone rings the door bell, you're supposed to answer._ " Elsa lay down her pencil, and looked up at her sister from the desk.

" _Anna. You know that if I don't answer the door bell, that I'm otherwise engaged. In this case with a math assignment for next week._ " Anna's eyes flicked down to the paper in front of Elsa, which was ironically empty. Damnit, Elsa thought. I should have at least set up the equations to look somewhat focused.

" _Uh-huh,_ " Anna replied, slightly pulling her lips at Elsa's not very discrete attempt to lean over the desk to hide the empty piece of paper. " _And what, pray tell, may this assignment be about? Geometry? Because I sure see a whole lot of white squares right there._ "

" _That, as a matter of fact, is none of your business. Don't you have your own school work to focus on? High school's tough, you know?_ " Elsa picked up her pencil again and fiddled with the already crumbling eraser on the end.

" _Yeah, yeah. Read these 50 pages about blah and write an essay about Freud's psychology-thingy and what-not. Why do we need to go through all this stuff? Not everyone wanna be this academic in life._ " Elsa sighed, turning her gaze towards the huge pile of school books on the other end of her desk. She'd asked herself that back in sophomore.

" _Well… Isn't that a question for the teacher? I'm sure they'd be thrilled to answer._ "

" _Funny jokes aside, Elsa, I need to talk to you. The craziest thing happened today._ " Elsa rolled her eyes, exasperated and threw the pencil back on the desk.

" _What is so important that you have the need to interrupt my homework?_ "

" _Well, for starters, Hans "McDreamy" Saunters Jr. spoke to me today! Oh, I'll never forget those words!_ " She dramatically threw herself across Elsa's bed, hiding her face in her arms. Though, the blush was visible all the way down her neck. She lay still, looking up into the ceiling, while continuing her tale.

" _I was walking towards the cafeteria for lunch, right? And then the Mac 3 passed by me! And Hans, ya know the tall redhead with sideburns, looked straight at me! Then he smiled, oh his smile, so gorgeous! And then… then, then he… oh he said those three words…_ " Her hands fell on her face again, covering her eyes. Elsa knew, that if she'd ever get her sister to leave, so she could go back to try and concentrate, she'd have to wrap up that conversation.

"Wha' di' 'e shay?" Elsa's voice was rarely used, and only if she was not able to establish a connection through more regular means such as waving within one's periphery or touching the shoulder. The sound of Elsa's voice did its job, as Anna perked up from her laid down position on the bed and looked straight at Elsa.

" _Step aside, Freckles._ " A goofy, far-off look spread across Anna's features, as if though she was pulled back to the moment in school. Elsa only scoffed and switched position on her chair.

" _Really, Anna? He wasn't talking to you. He was commanding you. Bossing you around._ " Anna only shook her head and sighed deeply.

" _You don't get it, Elsa. He called me Freckles! Nicknames are, like, basically second base! I can't believe this is happening to me!_ "

I can't believe _this_ is happening to me, Elsa thought, and turned back towards her desk, grabbing her pencil to write down the first equation. A tapping vibration through the wooden floor stopped her, and she once again turned around to see her sister, now sitting at the very edge of the bed.

" _That was not all, missy. I've got more news, and I know you'll like this! A certain someone updated their social media this morning. They arrived in the airport, fresh from Scotland._ " A knowing smile crept in on Anna's features as Elsa's eyes widened and shoulders shut up in surprise.

" _Are you saying… Astrid's back home? As in… My Astrid?_ " Anna only nodded in confirmation, and Elsa tried to keep herself down, though squeals still escaped her throat. Only a matter of seconds later, the girls' mother, Dagmar, pushed through the door, a concerned look painted across her slowly aging features.

" _What's wrong? Why did you shriek, Elsa?_ " A minute passed where the three women just exchanged glances, no one saying anything. Finally, Elsa spoke up to explain the situation.

" _Well, mom, apparently Astrid's returned from Scotland today! She's been spending time with her uncle all winter, after Felton shut down. And now she's finally come back._ " The concern was immediately wiped off Dagmar's face at the mention of Astrid and was replaced with a warm smile. " _Oh, Astrid Hofferson! Such a sweet girl. You must invite her over soon to celebrate her coming home!_ "

Anna walked over in a haste to join the conversation. " _We'll throw her a homecoming party! Just us and the guest of honour!_ " Elsa nodded in agreement, reaching out for her phone.

Math could wait a few hours. Right now, she had an important FaceTime call to make.

OOO

Jack went through the events of his lunch break that day multiple times in his head. First, he headed out to look at the oak tree. Then he thought about his sister, and suddenly, he stood before the huge tree. And by the second glance, he saw an objectively beautiful girl sit by the roots, far off in some fictional world. Confusion ensued as she did not respond to his calls, only for him to find out she's deaf, and then not knowing what to do with himself. He tried what little sign language he could remember from summer camp with his old friend Sander years ago, but there must have been something wrong with it, for all that the girl did, was turn around and leave. She didn't even look back once.

"You okay, Jack?" His fellow classmate and ice hockey buddy Harold "Hiccup" Haddock sat beside him and had paused the video game. "Dude, you're out of it today. Anything happened in school? You couldn't even hit the pluck right at practice." Jack shook his head with a sigh, putting the controller down on the bed sheets beside him.

"It's not something serious, really. I just… something happened out by the gigantic oak tree behind the school yard." Hiccup put down his own controller, turning towards Jack in his seat. "I know of that tree. What happened?"

"Well, I was gonna check it out for my little sis, and when I got there…" He proceeded to tell Hiccup of everything that occurred by the tree, down to the details of the girl's radiant blue eyes when she bore such confusion and… intimidation almost, in her expression.

"Wait, wait, wait… so you saw the deaf girl sit out there? Hmm… I can't remember her name, but I've always wondered where she runs off to after our History class."

"Yeah, well it seems she goes out there every day. The place she sat in almost looked like it was sculpted to fit her tiny figure. I just can't get her big, round eyes of surprise and confusion out of my head. Have I done something wrong? What if I've scared her away from her refuge?"

"Refuge? Isn't that a little… I don't know… dramatic?" If anything is dramatic, Jack thought, it's your over-gesticulation of every word you say, Hiccs. Charming as ever.

"I don't think so," he said instead. "She really looked like she was a million miles away in that book of hers. I think that's the only place she can escape everyone around her." Hiccup sighed and turned back around, looking at the frozen game, though not picking up the controller.

A silence followed Jack's comment, as the tv screen in front of them kept lighting up the room as the outside world grew darker and darker.

OOO

"Jack, please pass Pippa the potatoes." His mother's voice cut through his reverie, and brought him back to the tiny dining table, where he, his mother and sister sat, in the rundown kitchen of their old three-bedroom-apartment. Pippa sat expectantly to his left, and his mother across them both. Their mother could give the potatoes to Pippa just as well as Jack could, but she worried about the distant look on Jack's face throughout the entire dinner.

"Eh… What? Oh, yeah. Sure." He grabbed the bowl and placed it beside Pippa's plate, so she could help herself, all the while, Mrs. Frost kept a sharp eye on her son. He picked up his fork and pushed his peas around his plate, not really paying much attention to anything around him.

"Jack's thinking about girls!" Pippa exclaimed, and Mrs. Frost turned her head sharply towards her youngest child.

"Pippa! You know you mustn't tease your brother! Just as he mustn't tease you." The child's eyes immediately went down and found her steaming potatoes rather interesting. Her ears turned red through her nutbrown locks, and she had nothing more to say. Mrs. Frost looked back at her son.

"Jack?" She spoke softly, trying not to shock him out of yet another reverie. "Jack, is there something wrong? Please tell me if there is." Slowly, Jack's head turned, and he finally met his mother's gaze. He saw concern, but above all confusion, and it brought him right back to the tree.

Back where he had seen a girl he didn't know. Back to a girl with whom he couldn't communicate, and it made it him feel at a loss with himself. He'd never thought he would meet other people without a voice like Sander, but even though she could not speak, her eyes bore such emotion. Such radiance, and he didn't know how to respond to that.

Most of all he remembered the blue eyes and the confusion. Confusion, which now he saw in his mother's eyes.

"Jack, you're scaring me. Please, just say something." He blinked a few times, shook his head and everything before him became much clearer. He looked back at his mother.

"Sorry, mom. I'm just really tired. It's been a long, eventful day, and I think I'm going early to bed." He gave both his mother and little Pippa a reassuring smile before he excused himself and went upstairs.

Though he was tired, those blue eyes kept him up for quite a while.


End file.
